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Thursday, July 26, 2012

My sister and I visited the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie, Illinois. No photos were allowed to be taken inside, but I was able to take them outside the building.

I cannot take credit for this one; it is from the internet. It is a picture of the whole museum.

This is the entrance - everything is dark. Many things in a row here - doors, windows, cement tiles. The first half of the museum is pretty dark, with small lights by the exhibits. Movie clips run constantly in small niches. Some movies are worse than an horror film - because these movies are TRUE. Watching people being shot to death and falling into ready-made graves is hard to witness, even if it is secondhand and many years ago.

There is a boxcar that was actually used to transport people to the prisoner camp. My sister and I stood inside of it and wondered how 200-300 people were crammed in there. I got goose bumps up my spine and tears in my eyes.

I stepped into one room that was dimly lit. In the center of it was a model of the Belzec concentration camp that was located in Poland. This was strictly an extermination camp. A recording of a man's voice was playing. This man was the sole Jewish survivor from this camp. He worked at the camp. He described the horrors of his job, how the people didn't know what was going to happen when they entered the large dark room the was the gas chamber. I wanted to leave; I didn't want to hear anymore. But I owed it to all the thousands and thousands of Jews who were killed there at Belzec to listen to their horrible death. We need to know what happened to them. We cannot forget.

Outside and along the side of the building was posted this sign:

Here is the fountain.

Along the back are the names of people who helped to rescue some of the Jews.

some more names:

Across from the fountain are all these benches in a row; each with a small plaque with the name of the person(s) who the bench is dedicated by or to.

I know this is not a usual subject for things in a row; however it was such an interesting and important museum I felt the need to write about it. Also I couldn't pass up the photo op for things in a row!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Today we are visiting a little park just 2 miles straight down the road from me. It's called Volkening Lake. It offers both a walking and bicycle trail, has a picnic shelter, a garden area, and best of all, a large lake that you can take out rented paddleboats or canoes.

If the weather was more agreeable, (read - not so freakin' hot), I wouldn't mind sitting on one of these benches and smell the wonderful fragrances of the nearby flowers, or gaze at the lake.

The bricks are piled nicely in a row, with larger ones on top to make excellent seats.

The retaining wall along the lake has grooves that go in and out all around the edge. I like the reflection of the trees. You can see how dry the grass looks from lack of rain.

The life jackets are at the ready

in case anyone wants to indulge in

or this:

But before they do any of those things, they have to be sure that they park their bikes here.

Have you ventured out in this heat to get any photos of things in a row?

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Listen. I keep a pretty clean house. With just Jim and me living here, it's fairly easy.

But somehow the bugs keep getting in.

And I'M the one who keeps finding them.

Why me?

Me - who gets butterflies in my stomach just thinking about a spider, or earwig or such. And the fact that I have to actually crush them in a napkin and feel the crunch of their body between my fingers?

VOMIT!

You may ask, "Why not have Jim kill the bugs?"

Good question.

Most of the time, Jim is in his "MAN CAVE" (second bedroom), with the TV blasting so loud that he couldn't hear if a fire truck crashed into our building with it's siren screaming, let alone me yelling, "BUG! BUG!"

And you know by the time I went to get Jim, the darn bug would have moved.

And that would not be good.

No good at all.

Because it would haunt me for the rest of the day.

Where is that bug?

I'd feel it crawling on my arms.

Or my scalp.

I'd crawl in bed at night and think it would get me during my sleep.

I know.

I need help.

So you see, I have no choice.

I must be the KILLER OF BUGS.

Unfortunately I've been wearing this title just about every day.

It doesn't matter that we haven't had rain. One woman in our building takes care of the front lawn. She waters it constantly and at all hours of the night. I can't tell you how many times I have been awakened by the "squeak, squeak, squeak" of the water being turned off - at 2:00 am! The outside water spigot is right by our bedroom window. Anyway, I believe with all this watering that she is driving the insects inside - right inside my bedroom! Almost every night I'd look along the baseboards and sure enough, I'd find an earwig.

These are one of the ugliest bugs! Just looking at this photo gives me the heebe-jeebies! I know they don't bite, but they are scary looking.

Earwigs like dampness. I've found one in my shower. How could it even get it there?

My cousin told us this story of how he got up one morning, washed his face, and started brushing his teeth. He felt something in his mouth, and pulled out an earwig! He said, "Now I don't think the earwig crawled in my mouth when I was sleeping!"

I cringe when I think of his story.

Last night I was getting ready for bed. Washed my face. Got my toothpaste out. Set it on the sink. When I lifted it up, an earwig crawled away! I screamed!

Seriously? Thank GOD it didn't crawl to my toothbrush and get into my mouth.

The other night I was sitting in my living room with my head leaned back on my chair. I was talking to my daughter on the phone while gazing at the ceiling fan. I noticed a spot on the ceiling while the blades were going around. One part of my brain was listening to my daughter, while the other part was trying to determine if that was a bug up there. All of a sudden that spot began to move. I zeroed in on it, still keeping up the conversation, when all of a sudden the bug was gone!

I yelled, "Oh no!"

The bug must have lost it's grip on the ceiling, fell on a blade of the fan, and got whipped around the room. At least that's what I hoped happened. Otherwise it's crawling somewhere close to me.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

ADULT:A person who has stopped growing at both endsand is now growing in the middle.

CHICKENS:The only animals you eat before they are born and after they are dead. COMMITTEE:A body that keeps minutes and wastes hours. DUST:Mud with the juice squeezed out. EGOTIST:Someone who is usually me-deep in conversation. HANDKERCHIEF:Cold Storage. INFLATION:Cutting money in half without damaging the paper.MOSQUITO:An insect that makes you like flies better.

RAISIN:A grape with a sunburn. SECRET:Something you tell to one person at a time.

TOOTHACHE:The pain that drives you to extraction. TOMORROW:One of the greatest labor saving devices of today.YAWN:An honest opinion openly expressed.

And MY Personal Favorite!WRINKLES:Something other people have,Similar to my character lines.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

This weeks things in a row are from my sister, Linda's beautiful yard. Her kids threw a surprise 60th birthday party for her last Sunday. My twin sister, Pam, and I arrived early to help set up. It gave me a chance to snap some photos of lovely things in a row. Enjoy.

Here are some of the tables with umbrellas lined up down the driveway.

This is looking out through the gate down the driveway the other way. See the pretty colored lights and the fence slats in a row?

Linda has lots and lots of decorations in her yard. Like this awesome candelabra!

Or these pretty colored jars that hold tea lights and then she hangs from the tree branches.

How about a nice swing?

And finally, she has the beautiful old window that has flowers painted on it. She placed it on top of old bricks piled neatly to make a square.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of what is in my sister's yard. She also has a pond that is 18' x 33'. But I was only taking photos of things in a row. Hope you enjoyed the photos!

Friday, July 6, 2012

I've always been fascinated with the Amish - their way of life, their community, etc. I've read fiction novels based on Amish. I loved that movie "Witness" with Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis.

Kelly plays a young Amish widow and is traveling by train with her 8 year old son Samuel to visit her sister. Samuel witnesses a murder in the train station restroom. Harrison is called in to investigate and ends up protecting the Amish family back on their farm.

The National Geographic Channel has been running a new series called, "Amish - Out of Order". It is about Mose Gingerich, a man who left the Amish 9 years ago, and how he helps other young people who decide to leave. When one leaves the Amish, they are "shunned", never to be accepted back again to visit. (Unless they agree to come back to the Amish). Even their own family do not accept them back. This has to do with the family themselves being shunned from the congregation if they were to accept their family member back. The kids have to deal with never seeing their families again.

"Amish - Out of Order" is somewhat of a reality show - it follows Mose around as he helps individuals out. You get to meet some of the young people, get to know their story. You learns some of the rules of the Amish, their strict upbringing, some of their beliefs.

I found this series fascinating. And sad.

Every religion has pros and cons.

The Amish are very hard working people. They believe in family, and helping each other. They believe that if one were to leave the Amish, then that person will go straight to hell.

About Me

I try to find humor every day and am grateful for the little things in life. I love to explore new places, try new foods, see new things, meet new people. I'm game to try anything, well ALMOST anything, once! I love to write, take photos, read, and watch movies.